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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Attract Women with Garlic!

The beneficial health properties of garlic are well known, but
researchers at the University of Stirling and Charles University in
Prague have uncovered another less well known and surprising property –
that the body odour of men who eat garlic is attractive to women.

In the last garlic post, we discussed a way to increase the beneficial compounds (namely allicin) in garlic by crushing it, and allowing it to rest for 10 minutes. People who ate 5g per day of this garlic saw dramatic increases in cancer-protective genes. The route of intake in that study was crushed, mixed with butter, and spread on bread.

Several comments alluded to how badly this would make you smell, but Rob Hill and Wilbur assured us this was not the case:

Rob Hill said: I can't remember who recommended
crushing garlic, leaving for 10 minutes, then swilling down with water.
Its what I do everyday. 1st of all I could feel sensations in my
stomach, maybe a little nausea, and the wife complained of the smell.
Not any more. I can't really tell I've eaten it and no more smells!

Then Wilbur: I do not smell either. I did early on, but it went away.

Soon, a comment from a woman!

Gab Kad says: I don't believe that anyone who free bases raw garlic won't smell of it. The smell comes out in the sweat.

And our first hint that this may extend into the boudoir!

Dan says: My wife and I each blend a clove of garlic with greek yogurt, salt, and a
bit of water every night. It's a fairly pleasant way to get some daily
raw garlic and seems to help with sleep. And the smell fades by
morning so our coworkers are spared the odoriferous effects.

And then another lady:

Gemma says: Just thinking loud here... It is interesting that more than one person
reported "no garlic body smell" after eating garlic for some time. That
means, no such volatile substances in "garlic adapted" people... The
question is, are these garlic compounds simply used up by the body, or
not actively exported any more?

And finally, from a female who knows what she likes!

Yaelle says: Garlic done right tastes and smells so good. Better than chocolate. And I love chocolate.

Chocolate? Or.....

But, back to the research lab:

For the study, 82 women were asked to sniff the odour samples and judge
them on their pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity.

These guys all ate about 2 cloves of garlic, which had little noticeable effect on their "attractiveness." But when doubled to 4 cloves of garlic, wowzer! The men were reported to smell more attractive.

Craig Roberts, Professor of Psychology at the University of Stirling,
said: "Our results indicate that garlic consumption may have positive
effects on the pleasure derived from perceived body odour perhaps due to
its health effects.
"From an evolutionary perspective, formation of preferences for diet-associated body odours was possibly shaped by means of sexual selection. Previous research indicates that many animal species use diet-associated cues to select mates in good physical condition.
"As the health benefits of garlic consumption include antioxidant,
immunostimulant, cardiovascular, bactericidal and anti-cancer effects,
it is plausible that human odour preferences have been shaped by sexual
selection.

So, there you have it. Maybe people are smelling the garlic, but just not mentioning it, because deep down, they like it.

This will be my last post until classes start back up in February. Hope you all have a great Winter and holidays!

49 comments:

It says that drinking milk reduces garlic breath and whole fat is better. Going to the abstract of the original study, it seems a little confusing. It seems it's the water content of milk that reduces garlic breath the most. I'm not sure how the fat fits into the story. But it seems both Rob and I drink water with our garlic. Him directly. I have my fiber drink soon after. Also, I have most of my garlic with eggs and cheese, full fat of course.

Recently when working stupid amounts of hours, I'd let the garlic slip a little. Upon recommencing, my wife commented "you stink of garlic". After a couple of days - no more comments. I also asked to be sure and she couldn't detect anything.

It would be nice if this garlic consumption got me a little more 'appreciation', but no such luck...

Ray Medina's website has a good page describing how garlic was a big part of improving his gut: http://gutcritters.com/why-raw-garlic-may-be-your-guts-best-friend/

I tried peeling most of the dried covering off 2 big garlic bulbs, then put in a food processor, then store the minced garlic in the refrigerator so I can add 6 grams (which is about a tablespoon) to my meals when I want.

But Gabriella, you are ignoring the fact that people we don't see all the time -and who hate garlic in some cases - don't say anything or say that we don't if asked. My sister wouldn't hesitate to tease me. I've told people that I eat lots of garlic and to let me know if anything was amiss.

I remember once a long time ago when I ate a bunch of raw garlic for a few days in a row to address a deep wound in my foot that was trying to become infected, I was riding in the car with my uncle when he cut his eyes over at me and goes "Whew, P--- [my last name], your asshole must be *burning*!" :lol: :lol: I was taking care of my invalid grandmother at the time so wasn't out in public much, but because of that I've never really pursued eating it as a health strategy since.

I wonder how garlic-saturated women smell to men? That's of concern to me if I decide to try this. I wonder if they're doing a similar study on garlic women...

Rob, out of curiosity, how many cloves are you eating? And how long did you take a break from it for? I also wonder what might happen if you scale up slowly after a break. Or maybe you smell of garlic for longer before the no smell thing kicks in.I'm just doing one large clove a day. Looks like that isn't nearly enough.

Amy - you would think it would be the same as it's about the body being perceived as healthy.

gab,so I started thinking about a garlicky physiology and how it might combine with women's cologne. Since cologne smells so much better on some people than on others biochemistry obviously has something to do with it.

So NOW I'm wondering if one reason hippie chicks smell so bad is the combo of hummus (garlic) + patchouli. All this time we blamed the patchouli but maybe it's really the combo! ;-p

Anonymous, you would hope that it's all about health. But our pheromones are so different, it's reasonable to assume that adding something really pungent like garlic to the mix could have a profound effect. Whether the effect is for better or for worse might even have something to do with gut flora.

At any rate, I think I'm going to try this over the long weekend, starting next Thursday. I'll have a few people I"m not around every day sniff me on Sunday to judge how it's going. ;-) Report back sometime week after next.

Be careful with the sniff tests, Amy. You might create an army of admirers you can't get rid of, lol.

I noticed in the article we looked at in the main blog post that they also compared to "odorless" garlic. I have not looked closely at what exactly odorless garlic is. Does it mean it will not make your body smell like regular garlic?

It's possible that when attracting a suitable mate, they might be able to overlook the overt garlic smell and focus in at the microbial level subconsciously.

"Wow! She smells really bad, but I just cannot resist her!"

All the hippie chicks in Alaska have a strange skunk-like smell. What could that be?

Guys, that smell is from the dope they're smoking. Yours truly is still a hippie and I smell great. Eat lots of garlic, just don't smoke the pot any more. Modern, high-test pot smells like a nervous teenage boy's armpit, blech.

Tim, that really was my LOL moment for today. When I walk my dogs my three cats usually go with us. Some of my neighbors have nicknamed us "The Parade". Maintenance man (good friend) calls us "The Swarm." After reading your "army of admirers comment" I got a vision of me walking the same route, except instead of five critters strung out in front of and behind me, it was some of the men in my neighborhood. "Hey Jeff, smell my pit! C'mon Fouzi, take a snort o' this!!" Then off we go. Funny. :-)

Odorless garlic is not supposed to make your breath smell in the short term or your body in the long-term, but there used to be some debate about whether or not this type of processed product conveyed the same health benefits as unprocessed garlic preparations with smell intact. Dunno how that debate came out, however.

Not sure about that Cukey. Amy, I think it's because hippy chicks think that 'eau de nature' is cool. Except after a while, it's really not. So they layer on the other odours until you could smell them a block away if the wind was in the right direction. I grew up in the 'hood (right by Yorkville which has since turned into something entirely different) so variously consciousness altered folk were all over. No hippies anymore. Just a vertigo inducing forest of high rise condos and expensive hookers tolerating the groping of moneyed drunk boys.

Patchouli eh? One of my favourite perfumes that is no longer available because NONE of my favourite perfumes are available (really so annoying) has a bit of patchouli in it.

And btw, garlic makes for some evil farts. I've been adding a clove of the round ball shaped garlic (that is only one clove) to the cooking recently and woooooof. The cats still like me.

It's easier keeping up when I'm taking classes since I'm on-line anyway, I need a short break from the internet. I think you know what I mean, lol. Winter here is hard enough, takes some real willpower to get out and enjoy it, but that's my plan.

What happens if you don't let it sit? Is it hot? I ate some raw garlic once and it was hot (spicy) as hell. So hot it made my eyes water, not pleasant and I enjoy hot peppers .... if they're not *stupid* hot.

"Crushing or chopping garlic releases an enzyme, alliinase, that catalyzes the formation of allicin, which then breaks down to form a variety of healthful organosulfur compounds."

Brad - think of it like those two component epoxy glues you buy...each compound is not much on its own, but when mixed and allowed to chemically activate, they make a powerful glue. Same with the garlic, the chemicals ate held separately in fresh garlic, but when crushed, they form a powerful protective compound.

I like to imagine it's their way of saving themselves from being trampled by animals in a natural environment.

Hi Tim, sorry to ask this on this post, I know you'll be MIA until 2016.You posted in the past few months on which prebiotic fiber supps you do(with quantities), and for the life of me I cannot find it. It was just a tiny paragraph. Would you mind reprinting it - or just tell me which post I can find it it. Also, on your Amazon tab- can you add the NOW product for psyllium husk. You've done lots of research, taken in info from many n=1, so your experience and knowledge is really invaluable, it saves the rest of us lots of time.Thanks for taking the time.

No problem! I just went through my Amazon recent purchases and added a couple things on the last page. The heirloom popcorn is addictive!

Recently, my fiber supplementation has been pretty minimal. I eat a bowl of oatmeal (different kinds) every morning garnished with honey and after it has cooled a bit, a spoonful of potato starch. Then I just eat lots of high fiber foods, ie. greenish bananas, cooked/cooled/reheated beans, rice, potatoes. Also lots of garlic lately. Onions, asparagus, leeks.

Every now and then, especially if a few days of low-fiber eating, I will make a nice smoothie with blueberries, oat bran. psyllium husk, milk thistle seeds, inulin, PS, etc...

Don't throw out old, sprouting garlic -- it has heart-healthy antioxidantsDate:February 26, 2014Source:American Chemical SocietySummary:'Sprouted' garlic -- old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves -- is considered to be past its prime and usually ends up in the garbage can. But scientists report that this type of garlic has even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than its fresher counterparts. They found that garlic sprouted for five days had higher antioxidant activity than fresher, younger bulbs, and it had different metabolites, suggesting that it also makes different substances. Extracts from this garlic even protected cells in a laboratory dish from certain types of damage. "Therefore, sprouting may be a useful way to improve the antioxidant potential of garlic," they conclude.

"Old sprouting garlic" can really stink up a kitchen Anon. But you can put it in a pot and grow it on, no smell and you get something like garlic chives. Same with onions. Been doing it for decades, not for health benefits but because I hate waste.

Great advice! Lots of crazy good things happen right when a plant sprouts. You have to figure that sprouting time is the most dangerous for a plant, so it throws all of its protective abilities out there.

It's funny. I used to throw out sprouted garlic because of the common wisdom. It's been a year or so that I discovered I like the sprouted ones. Use them just like unsprouted.

I find that I like a lot of stuff commonly thrown away. Green parts of leaks, broccoli stems, cores of cabbage and endives, stems of collards and kale. I won't say it's healthier, but I bet it is different for the bugs than the commonly eaten parts.

I learned to cook from TV. Apparently anything chewy should be tossed. But, yeah, they are the best bits. AND, to boot, I've gotten a lot of the good stuff for free from farmers markets. Huge bags of cauliflower and broccoli leaves, and the greens of onions. The farmers get a kick out of my eating their "trash."

Inulin and FOS are slightly different. In nature, they are bound together, but food manufacturers extract and separate them so that they can use them as food additives. FOS is sweeter and inulin has more fiber, I believe, but that is only for the food manufacturers to really know.

As a supplement, I would only use inulin, or inulin/FOS. I would not use FOS, but, FOS is shown to be a good prebiotic, so if it's all you can get it's probably OK. In nature, inulin is found in much greater proportions than FOS. If you eat Jerusalem artichokes or garlic, you get about 90:10 Inulin:FOS, for reference.

About Me...

This is the blog of Tim Steele. I live in North Pole, Alaska...a small town near Fairbanks and just a stone's throw from the Arctic Circle. I've spent the last several years toying with and talking about numerous health interventions such as:

I use all of these simple interventions to stay healthy and lean. Having recovered from full-blown metabolic syndrome, I think that most people can cure themselves of most of their health problems with a focus on dietary and lifestyle choices.

I'm a 21 year US Air Force veteran with a background in electronics, water treatment, industrial controls, power generation, and science. I presently work in a hospital as the Electrical Systems Supervisor. I'm also pursuing a Master's Degree in Biotechnology through the University of Maryland.

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